Scanning for Ideas - A MEMS gyro for tight spaces and tight budgets

MEMS gyro-Printer-friendlyThe Pinpoint gyro from Silicon Sensing Systems Ltd., Devon, U. K. (www.siliconsensing.com), uses a fully balanced vibrating silicon ring for stable outputs for navigation or pointing despite vibration, shock, temperature, or the passage of time. Most other MEMS gyros use unbalanced, open-loop vibrating masses such as tuning forks and combs. The 3-mm ring resonates at 22 kHz in a closed-loop control system. According to its designers, the ring can be thought of as an infinite number of tuning forks in a balanced, vibrating circular structure.

The gyro on a chip also features a hermetically sealed ceramic LCC SMT package, analog and digital SPI output modes, and user-selected dynamic ranges from 75 to 900°/sec. PinPoint comes with one of two sensing options: in-plane with the chip and orthogonal with the chip. This lets designers measure pitch, roll, and yaw, while letting the chip be at an inclined angle to the sensitive axis.